Farm Bill Conference Committee Preparatory Work Gets Underway; Lucas Outlines Process 

The House of Representatives is preparing its conference committee on the 2013 Farm Bill after conferees were named last weekend. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas spoke with me yesterday and said it isn't a simple process because there have been very few conference committees called in the last ten years. He said some Congress members have never seen one so this is a new process for them. Lucas said that he will be working with Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow later this afternoon to discuss a timetable for the conference committee to meet.

Lucas will be the chairman of the conference committee. He said he expects the committee will meet soon and then recess for discussions among members on various points. The committee might hold further public meetings on points of disagreement that need further work. He said the process will end with a vote from the committee to accept its final work product which will be sent to the House and Senate for up or down votes. If approved, it goes to the President for his signature or veto.

While the process may be straightforward, Lucas said its outcome is not a foregone conclusion at this point.

"There are still some areas of contention that have to be worked out. For instance, the Senate is still very focused on a one-size-fits-all kind of commodity safety net. Something that, it looks like to me, would work very well in the Midwest if you're a corn or a bean farmer, but, perhaps, won't work so well for the rest of us.

"The House perspective still is that a farm bill needs to work for all commodity groups in all regions. That's why the phrase 'choice' is so important-giving you options to pick from. We've got to work that difference out."

You can listen to our in-depth conversation or read more of this article on our webpage by clicking here.  

Federal Government Shutdown/Slowdown Ends- USDA Website Turned Back On in Middle of the Night

At the eleventh hour (at least as far as the government running out of borrowing authority)- the GOP gave up the battle and the Senate and the House quickly voted to extend current budget authority for another three months and raise the debt ceiling by about a trillion dollars, which means the fat lady has sung and the Shutdown/Slowdown is over.   

After the House vote, officials announced that the federal government would reopen on Thursday and that federal employees should return to work.

Overnight, the USDA's website lost the obnoxious screen that told people to go away and it was replaced with a statement at the top warning those who enter that it was rather dusty inside since nothing had been updated since September 30th.  

As USDA officials return to work today- we should get some indication in the next couple of days of what reports they will try to issue belatedly and what reports will simple be skipped this year.

Two of the most visible reports lost since the first of October are the October Crop Production number that would have been released on October 11th- and the Cattle on Feed numbers that would have been released tomorrow- October 18th.

Also- it will be interesting to see how quickly we get word from the RMA on approval of written contracts for winter canola- in some cases, the slowness of the Agency to act on written crop insurance requests that were given to USDA back in August meant that some acres of Canola was not planted this fall.  The RMA deadline on planting canola and being eligible for insurance was the 10th of October.  Some farmers went ahead and planted and are hoping USDA will approve their written applications- albeit late.

OACD Praises Governor's Call for Emergency Drought Relief

A call for action by Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin to address the ongoing drought in Southwest Oklahoma and a portion of the Oklahoma Panhandle was greeted with praise today by the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts (OACD). According to Kim Farber, President of OACD, the call by Governor Fallin to access the Emergency Drought Fund created last spring by the Oklahoma Legislature was a welcome development for farmers and ranchers in those portions of the state still suffering from the record drought.

"Starting in July most of Oklahoma was blessed with rainfall in sufficient levels to reduce the grip that the drought had on our state," Farber said. "Regrettably, not all of Oklahoma has been fortunate enough to receive the rain necessary to break the drought. Southwestern Oklahoma and parts of the Oklahoma Panhandle in particular have yet to see this kind of rainfall and are in desperate need of assistance. We are very happy that Governor Fallin has taken this action to help the people and communities in these areas and we are fully in support of her action to access these funds."

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Sysco Rep Says Beef Quality is What Counts

Food service distributors don't care what breed of cattle you produce. They do care about the quality. That's according to Norlyn Tipton, quality assurance manager with Sysco.

"I would tell you that any of the breed programs that are out there, if it's just based on the breed itself then it doesn't have a whole lot of anything. It's got to have some merit behind it from the standpoint of quality grade, aging components. Eating satisfaction is actually what it comes down to and they value that they are getting-that the consumer is getting-for going out."

Tipton urges producers to pay attention to quality. Regardless of how they sell cattle, it benefits everybody in the beef chain.

"It's shifting more and more to a quality-driven industry. And, so, if all you're doing is producing pounds, you're relegating yourself to the commodity world. And if you're not producing for a quality product, you're leaving yourself out of that opportunity to transition into or move into one of those programs that is getting a premium."

You can read more of this story or watch a video version by clicking here. 

 DuPont CEO Announces Progress on 2020 Food Security Goals at World Food Prize

Addressing more than 1,000 international leaders at the World Food Prize 2013 Norman Borlaug Dialogue, DuPont Chair and CEO Ellen Kullman announced progress made in the first year of the company's 2020 food security goals to address global hunger challenges. Established in 2012, DuPont's food security goals - targeting innovation, education and rural community development - are an outgrowth of its long-standing sustainability goals focused on the environment.

"In our first year of the food security goals we allocated resources and attention to bring new innovations to the market, to engage the next generation of food leaders, and to build up the communities that are home to the world's farmers," Kullman said. "These goals are a catalyst for collaboration, innovation and, most importantly, action. What gets measured gets done."

In its first year, the program: Invested $1.2 billion in research and development; worked with 360,000 youth globally; and engaged with more than 160,000 smallholder farmers.

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U.S., Australian Cotton Industries EscalatingCommitment to Responsibly-Grown Fiber

The National Cotton Council of America and its export promotion arm, Cotton Council International (CCI), have joined with Cotton Australia and Cotton Incorporated as founding members of Cotton Leads™ -- an initiative aimed at raising awareness of the responsible growing practices among U.S. and Australian cotton producers.Combined, Australia and the United States account for roughly 17 percent of global cotton production.

Cotton Leads' activities and program fund use will be guided by a committee comprised of three members from these founding member nations along with two members from partnering industry organizations.

This Cotton Foundation special project is specifically aimed at textile brands, retailers and manufacturers committed to sourcing cotton that is grown in a responsible and transparent manner. Validating the Cotton Leads program are the national-level oversight, regulatory enforcement and transparency of practices common to both countries.  

You can read more by clicking here.

Cattle Rustling Alive and Well- and Costing Cattle Producers in a BIG Way 

Rancher Rusty Halverson discovered 22 head of Black Angus and Black Baldy cattle were missing from his Garvin County Ranch on Oct. 11. The cattle are actually owned by John Griswold of Griswold Cattle Company in Stillwater. Halverson, serving as caretaker of the cattle, believes the cattle may have been stolen from his ranch located six miles east and one mile north of Pauls Valley. The cattle are branded with the letters LL on the left hip

Earlier in the month- the thieves were busy up in the Okmulgee area- from a report from the News on 6 in Tulsa- "A family who makes a living from ranching is in a world of hurt after thieves targeted their ranch twice within two weeks, stealing thousands of dollars worth of cattle.

This is the largest theft that has ever happened at the Langford Herefords ranch in Okmulgee, which has been around for 75 years. Within two weeks, more than $100,000 worth of cattle was stolen. The high powered genetics associated with these animals make this a high dollar crime- one that a thief would have a hard time monetizing. 

"Its a real shame to be honest with you," said owner Watson Langford. Langford has grown up on his family's ranch. Raising cattle is his livelihood, so you can only imagine the gut-wrenching feeling when he learned criminals stole eight cows, nine calves and two bulls.  

"We deal with this every day and the issue with cattle theft is it is a low-risk, high-reward crime," said Special Ranger Bart Perrier of the TSCRA.

The Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association is offering a $10,000 reward to anyone who has information that will lead to an arrest and conviction of the person responsible for these crimes. Special Agents with the law enforcement section of the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry (ODAFF) are working with the TSCRA Rangers in tracking these cattle.   Anyone with information regarding the theft of these cattle is asked to call the ODAFF Investigative Services office at 405-522-6102.